With the pandemic hitting us all abruptly and leaving us in devastation, I picked up something during these hard times to light up my world. We’ve all heard of the genre k-pop before, idols who dance and sing at the same time with appealing visuals to charm the audiences. Well, on one fateful day, I received a direct message from an entertainment agency, LUMÉ entertainment, offering me a role in an idol survival show to debut as an i-pop girl group member. Honestly, it seemed like those scam messages you’d get, which I did think of at first. But I decided to give it a shot since it wouldn’t hurt. I wasn’t going to lose anything from it, so why not take as many opportunities as you can when they come along? I sent in my dance and vocal audition video to them to be considered. Mind you, I’m not a singer nor do I diligently practice singing. This is quite a way for me to step out of my comfort zone in arts. Days later, the result emails came out and I managed to get into the line-up of participants of the upcoming idol survival show, ”LUMÉ Alpha Girls 2021”, which all the episodes have been uploaded on YouTube to be watched on their channel.
From 317 applicants, 18 girls were chosen to be a part of the show to survive debuting in a girl group. Everyone came from different places, different schools, different cities, different backgrounds, etc. I didn’t recognize any familiar faces when I had arrived for the shooting of the first episode which was a bit unfortunate. But, that challenged me to make new links after months of quarantine. Everyone was very accepting, welcoming, and supportive of each other. It was so eye-opening for me to see all these girls together, not knowing each other, but we hyped each other up so much. All connected by dancing, singing, and rap. As cliche as it sounds, it felt like home.
Of course, a survival show is a survival show, which unfortunately means someone would certainly go home after every mission. There was an elimination procedure every mission we got and there wasn’t really one time I remember where I had not felt guilty or upset about losing a friend. We started from 18 girls to 14, 12, 11, 9, and eventually 7 as the planned final debut line-up. However, we eventually debuted as a 6-membered girl group now known as LUCIA!
The survival show went on for about 5-6 months – from May up to October for shooting. From the start, I really thought this show was going to be a breeze and I underestimated it (spoiler alert: I should not have done that). I got the biggest reality check on my skills and abilities as a performer. But it helped me to encourage myself to improve and learn new skills from those around me. In one of the episodes, embarrassingly, you could see me trying (emphasizing on the “trying”) to sing properly for once after years of dropping vocal lessons. Through the process, who knew I actually had a hidden talent for rapping and lyric writing. But, a lot of the coaches have told me how much I’ve grown as an idol and my singing has started to really show its true colours. With every mission evaluation and ranks being revealed, I’ve always scored high and stayed in the top 7. During voting evaluations, thankfully, I had always ranked first due to the support of my friends, family, and those in my community, which I appreciate deeply.
A lot of people have asked me what it’s like to be an idol and student at the same time? The contract details, school workload, and other activities I also must balance like extracurriculars. Now known with the stage name of REI, LUCIA’s main rapper, lead dancer and lyricst, I’ve been managing my job very well with all this on my plate. I’m learning how to adapt my responsibilities well. It sounds unbelievable to others, but I find joy amidst all the things going on in my life right now. This might be my happiest state I’ve been in and appreciate myself and puts me in a positive mindset. I tend to look on the bright side of things optimistically to make the learning process and journey more enjoyable to look back on too.
Speaking of the bright side of things… My debut single “First Light” shares how the sun shines for the first time, and my group sees a chance for us to start our dreams. Being one of the major lyricists and songwriter of the song with a couple of other members, the intentions I aimed to convey through the song was to be a light for those in the current situation. The lyrics were conveyed in an inclusive manner by using ad libs and pronouns like “we” “you” “ourselves” with a catchy drop. It’s a tough year for many of us I’m sure, but I wanted to mould this song into something that can brighten people’s mood and feel motivated to eventually be more optimistic. It’s like finding hope in despair!
This song, with its dance, has helped me in so many ways to be up for opportunities I couldn’t have imagined before. A recent event that happened, was when my group had been invited to collaborate with other well-known artists on social media to perform a concert. I’ve learnt so much from the people I’ve met and have learnt to respect and appreciate their work. Looking back on what would have happened if I hadn’t given that one “spam” message a consideration, I can’t entirely imagine. Reflecting on the past year and my journey through this career that I’ve built, my confidence and courage have increased drastically in a good way. I’ve gotten more extroverted and interested in talking with people to share ideas with each other. For those still waiting on something, I hope you’ll find a light soon enough that makes you shine brighter than any ball of fire or star out there! Stop doubting yourself and know that it’s better to not have any regrets. Try everything you’d like, live to your fullest, and be happy with what you’re doing. But most importantly, take care of your health and know when you shouldn’t push yourself because you deserve breaks.
Links:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftU-2nga9K0
iTunes: https://music.apple.com/id/album/first-light-single/1604216622
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5JDrRVL9EtstecLcaXmxui?si=-ySCbgxhSGeVNF8Mvubc3g&utm_source=copy-link
JOOX: https://www.joox.com/id/single/0ip813jDRCZqMTnuzAYeIg==?appshare=iphone
Other Links:
Individual M/V Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upRxfPuDhI4
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regina.hadiputri/?hl=en
LUCIA’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucia_official.id/?hl=en
Regina Felicia Hadiputri – Grade 10C also known as REI of LUCIA
